~Kiki~
Walking to the farther end of the horseshoe driveway, I got into a new black RAM 2500. It was a loaner car the dealership gave my dad when he dropped off his old pickup truck for servicing yesterday. I used his pickup truck solely for doing my job and walked to school or beaches and other places.
My parents drove fancy cars while Megan inherited my mom's old Chrysler. She was going to get a nice loaded BMW on her eighteenth birthday next year. I was hoping they wouldn't trade in the Chrysler and give it to me instead.
I took a sip of my delicious hot chocolate and set it in the cup holder before keying the car.
Wait, what? Why would my dad bring a loaner with a manual transmission? He knew I sucked at driving a stick shift.
Checking my watch, I hopped out of the car and darted towards my friend Benjamin's house, which was next door.
All the elite warrior families were treated on par with the other high-ranking members. We didn't need to live inside the massive packhouse like the ordinary guard wolves or trackers. Being wolfless, I was an exception and didn't get the same treatment as my family did, but that's a different story.
My dad could afford this lavish two-story house when he was in his late twenties; the house was only a few blocks away from the packhouse. I had fond memories of growing up with Megan, Benjamin, and the other kids when we were all young. Every night was like a sleepover night.
Things changed pretty quickly as we became teenagers and our parents got wealthier. All young warrior Etas were promoted to Zetas, including Benjamin's dad. Benji was a month younger than me and was one of the few who got selected to be an Eta—the cream of the crop.
"Benjiii" I rang his doorbell impatiently.
He typically struggled to get out of bed so early and lagged behind at the cost of doing thirty laps as punishment, but with my luck, it seemed like he left early. No one answered the door. His parents were also probably on the training grounds.
Bracing myself for a bumpy ride, literally, I walked back to the car. Benji was my support system. If there was anyone in the Thunder Bay Pack that I could lean on, it was him.
In crisis situations like this, I wanted him to tell me I already knew how to handle a stick shift and a beefy truck. He would have even done a quick refresher or a sort of demo. Hell, I even forgot that this thing came with three pedals instead of two.
Letting out a nervous sigh, I wrapped my palm around the gear stick and pushed the clutch all the way in. Feathering it out slowly, I got more confident as I reversed smoothly and cruised my way to the stop sign in first gear. Not bad at all. All that panicking was for nothing.
I passed by the perimeter of the training grounds, watching my friends and family in nostalgia. I was particularly disappointed when I couldn't see Alpha Kayden. This had become my routine for the past four years, to drive by this area slowly while watching him until I got my fill.
Call me a creep, but who wouldn't fall for a handsome devil like that? When the mellow beams of the morning sunlight cast upon his shirtless body, they highlight every plane and ridge of his muscular torso in the sexiest way possible, sending some out of the world sensations to my core.
Heat crept up to my face as I imagined it. This was usually the highlight of the day in my boring life where everyone except Benji avoided me and called me a freak.
It wasn't just the good looks that pulled me towards the Alpha like a magnet. He had been my savior on more than one occasion when I was bullied over the years.
This pack did not hold a place for a wolfless member like me, and it was a surprise I hadn't been banished yet. They were probably waiting for me to turn eighteen. The thought made me shudder as this was the only home I knew. I wouldn't survive a day as a rogue.
Alpha Kayden had lost his mom when he was three. Grandma told me it was during a fight at a Coronation Ceremony some seventeen years ago. Alpha Dimitri had almost gone insane when he lost his mate. He had drowned himself in alcohol for months while rogue attacks killed several important members of his pack before he could overcome his grief and function normally.
It was skilled warriors like my parents who protected the pack when the Alpha was lost. To avoid any danger to his son, Alpha Kayden's maternal grandparents took him away to their pack, and he grew up a thousand miles away until he was sixteen.
There was this brooding aura to him that had drawn me towards him from the moment I had set my eyes on him. He was there to witness my shameful performance at failing to shift when I was thirteen. He was the first person I looked at when my wolf refused to surface. All I could see was an unreadable expression as he watched my tear-streaked face.
Many friends and even Alpha Dmitri's beta and gamma had comforted me, saying I was a late bloomer. He just watched me with a blank face. Thankfully, that blank face did not turn hostile even when the others had abandoned me over the years, one by one, slowly and painfully, except for Benji, who didn't care whether I was one of them.
Lately, I have been acting very strange around Alpha Kayden. My heart pounds wildly inside my chest at the mere mention of his name.
Thanks to these irrational jitters, I had made a fool of myself on a couple of occasions when he was around, the latest one being falling off a tree on my butt right into a big puddle and splashing dirt over his pants. Guess what day and time it was? It was his Alpha Ceremony day and when he was walking to the venue with his future beta and gamma.
They called me a clumsy freak while he asked me what I was doing on a treetop. Everyone else was digging into the appetizers by then, but I wanted to get a first look at his appearance that day. Deep down, his ceremony felt like a special day for me as well.
Well, that was a month ago, and I haven't been in his good books (or blank books) since then. He flashed a look of irritation whenever our paths crossed, as if it was my job to fall into puddles and ruin his clothes.
Circling one last time around the grounds to confirm that he really wasn't there, I made my way to exit the place in disappointment. I wondered what could be the reason because he never missed a day of training.
I cut my way through the open parking lot where all the spare cars of the wealthy pack members were parked. Alpha Kayden drove three different cars, but the love of his life was the motorcycle that he rode almost everywhere.
My stomach did a sudden flip when I spotted him, spotted his back to be specific, as he was walking back after parking his motorbike. No, wait... he did not park it in its usual spot but randomly left it by the curb. He turned back when he heard my vehicle nearing him, and there you go... my stupid body forgot where I was.
Without realizing what the hell I was doing, I lifted my foot off the clutch completely while turning around the curb and ran the big ass truck over the curb, and then its left front wheel went over his motorbike.
Fuck my life!
Prepare to die, stupid Kiki.
~Kiki~I froze at the look of his fuming face and shut the engine off. Pushing the door open, I was about to step out when I saw that I had knocked off one of the bike mirrors when swinging the door open.Why doesn't the ground next to the curb just open up and suck me in? He looked like he was going to swallow me whole when the earth refused to help me escape."What the fuck, Kiki? Are you drunk driving or what?" His usually deep and calm voice was seething with anger and agitation, and so was his face, which was typically void of any expression when he saw me.I bit hard on my lower lip to stop my chin from trembling and shifted on my feet anxiously. He moved his hands off his hips and yanked his damaged bike from under the car.To be honest, it didn't really look that damaged except for the missing mirror. And perhaps a few scrapes here and there. Oh well, everywhere. Damn!After several beats of silence as he inspected the damage,
~Kiki~A pool of anxiety coiled inside me when I heard those words. Where was I going to go?I only knew how my actual parents looked. I had no idea who they were or where they lived. Were they even alive and would they want me back after finding out I had no wolf?"Are my actual parents werewolves?"Crying didn't bode well with Alpha Dimitri in the past, so I wasted no time on tearing up and begging him to keep me. He sounded like he had made up his mind to kick me out already. Alpha Kayden will have to say the words, and I will be banished once the bond with the pack breaks.Alpha Kayden... my toes curled at the mere mention of his name in my thoughts."Didn't you hear me? Alpha Wyatt's your dad. He was one of the strongest alphas to have existed. He would have made a great Alpha King if not for your scheming mother, who got him killed and handed everything over to an asshole alpha from the Storm Moon Pack."Storm Moon Pack, huh. No
~Kiki~I sucked in a sharp breath, and I swear my heart was ready to burst. Can there be anything more embarrassing? I threw his shirt on the floor behind me and stood there like a statue.Once I found my voice, I came up with a bullshit explanation."The omega who... who d-does the laundry wanted to check if anything needed to be taken out for la-laundry so that I could take them to the laundry for the omega who does the laundry."Jeez!"Okay, the omega will do the laundry. But why was my shirt pressed to your nose?"He towered over me, wrapped in a towel, with beads of water clinging to his hard abs and taut chest muscles. More water dripped from his hair, but that was not where my attention was. I licked my lips at the sight of the hard-on tenting up under his towel."I-I didn't d-do that," I choked out. I was talking about the shirt, but my eyes were fixed on what was under the towel.His eyes had tu
~Kiki~ My adoptive parents were back before dinner, and they had some news for tomorrow. Twelve days from now, on the full moon night, Alpha Kayden's chosen mate was supposed to be sworn in through the Luna Ceremony. I was feeling quite apprehensive about it lately. His chosen mate, Sienna, has been his girlfriend for years. About five years, to be precise. When he returned to Thunder Bay Pack at the age of sixteen, he brought her with him. She was a White Warrior wolf, a wolf who wasn't bound by the mate bond or pack rules, unlike a common werewolf. White Warrior wolves were born fighters and loners who were exposed to rough, life-endangering conditions by their parents right from a young age. They were typically attracted to the alphas of various packs, probably because they are equals in strength and endurance. I had been jealous of her from the moment I laid my eyes on her. I was only twelve then, about to turn thirteen, when I bumped heads with h
"I don't care what happens today. Lexi doesn't stand a chance with me. Just stay alive and we should be fine.""Did you really not lead her on? Why is she suddenly after the luna title? You have been hiding something from me. Why don't you come clean? You fucked her, didn't you?" Sienna sounded pissed.Alpha Kayden let out a low growl before cupping Sienna's face."Ci, for the last time, I did NOT fuck her or anybody. Don't push it with me, okay?""Oh yeah? Whose smell was on your lips yesterday then? You think you can go around kissing others just because you are the Alpha? Tell me who it was and I'll stop asking."Alpha Kayden fell silent. I lifted my arm to my nose. What did I smell like to him? And to Sienna? He didn't deny kissing someone who wasn't his girlfriend."Who are you protecting, Kay? I'm going to kill that bitch after I'm done with Lexi."I heard him hiss, and I couldn't help feel scared and excited at the same t
~Kiki~'Luna Sienna!''Go Luna Sienna...'These words were ringing in my ears long after I left the arena. My mind knew this was inevitable. Alpha Kayden would mark her in front of the entire pack and then proceed with the mating ceremony. She will give him the cutest and strongest pups ever known. My stupid heart had a hard time digesting the inevitable.The only consolation to this whole thing was that I wouldn't be there to witness it if they banished me on the full moon night. I will become a rogue while Alpha Kayden begins his wonderful new life with the love of his life.From the way he kissed Sienna in the locker room and then showered her with love and affection after she had won the fight, it was obvious even to a blind person that he was very much into her.Whatever he did with me the last two times didn't make any sense. Why lure me in when he had someone like Sienna as his girlfriend? I just needed to keep my distance and not get
~Kiki~If looks could strip someone bare, I was buck naked in front of Alpha Kayden's hungry eyes. My stomach did several flips in response to the way his eyes raked my body before settling on my lips.I looked away in dismay, reminding myself that his one arm was wrapped around Sienna even right now. What kind of a man stares at other women with such lust when he has a beautiful woman right by his side? He was no good, and neither Sienna nor I needed someone like that.Benji and the others went over to greet him, and Leroy shared some inside joke with the older guys before we walked over to the bar area to get ourselves some appetizers."It's a bummer neither of you got one of these." Leroy pulled out a fake ID and handed it over to the bartender. "One Tom Collins."Clever. He ordered a drink that looked like water to someone who would question his underage drinking. I always wanted to taste the alcohol, but the smell never appealed to me. Megan d
~Alpha Kayden~"What's the matter. Don't like the pizza?" Sienna asked me as she stuffed herself with a big slice loaded with pepperoni, salami, and bacon."It's okay." I wasn't sure how many slices I ate so far, or if they tasted any good. My mind wasn't there at the moment."If it's the movie you don't like, it will get better, I promise." She nibbled on my ear before placing a wet kiss on my neck.I was in no mood for the pizza, movie, or her kisses. Something was terribly wrong with me. I couldn't stay at the club once Kiki left. Sienna suggested we watch a movie at her place and make out.I thought spending some time alone with my girlfriend would keep my thoughts from wandering in sinful directions. Those thoughts didn't give a flying fart what I thought about them.The sight of Kiki in her sexy black dress kept flashing in front of my eyes. When did that little twelve year old girl turn into such a beautiful woman?